In less than a week, four people I know will enter NS, two each on two different days. You might even know them too – Windbell and TRM are heading in on the 13th (this Saturday), and Sabar and Weijie are going in on the 15th (Monday). Windbell will be entering in the morning and TRM in the afternoon, while Sabar and Weijie are going in at the same time. The odds of them being in the same company are great. Read on however, to find out what I really have to say.

It is a sad truth that conscription hurts males more than it helps them. Deny it all you want, governments around the world that do compulsory military service drafts each year, but you can never lie to those who have been in and out. With that in mind, even each country’s situation within the army is unique, so I will just talk about the one I know, which is SG’s, and yes, I already have been in and out, and even went back for what they call reservice. A little explanation is perhaps in order, and then a rant.

NS here is divided into enlistment into full-time NS, and then after you complete a 2-year stint, completely within the army (and usually doing nothing else), you are considered Operationally Ready (the date by which you get out of this 2-year stint is called Operationally Ready Date or ORD, a date most NSF, or NS Full-time servicemen, can recall more readily than their own birthdays), after which you re-enter social life. But each year (depending on whether you are studying or working) you must return for at least one in-camp training (ICT) or reservice period, in which you will receive re-training (that is to say, revision) for a short period, or going out for a field exercise. You are also required to take the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) and pass it each year even after the NSF period. So I already have ORD’ed, as it were, and even returned for three ICTs.

Now the rant deals almost exclusively with how the army should be run so instead I will leave it for later. Right now, allow me to focus on advice for the folks who are entering NS, which is, yes, a “turning point” in your lives. Unfortunately, it is a turning point for the worse, for most people. Allow me to debunk all your myths right now and tell you what you should really be doing while in NS. Oh by the way, all 4 are entering the Basic Military Training Center, and not going directly into BMT phase via a unit (which is called mono-intake and is worse). BMTC is a freaking holiday chalet compared to a real unit.
 

The SAR21, the standard issue assault rifle for the SAF.

Myth – In NS, you are trained to get fitter.

Fact – Fitter in what area? Running? Maybe. BMT period, yes, you get better at running usually, and at doing pull-ups, but the rest of your physical fitness declines. After BMT, you also need to see where you are assigned to and what vocation. Obviously, high risk combat vocations will force you to become manly soldiers or even to the point of being GAR, but the sad truth is that for most people, NS becomes a period of stagnation when it comes to fitness. Of course, if you get to the School of Infantry Specialists (SISPEC for short, where they make specialists in taking punishment, and the other thing it stands for is Suffer In Silence Plus Extra Confinement) or Officer Cadet School (OCS, self-explanatory), then you are going to be even fitter…for a period of time. Commandos are the worst, and so are Guards, but entry into those two are special cases most of the time.
 

Myth – You eat better food in NS nowadays.

Fact – Compared to what period of time? To the past, yes. But the present food at times can still suck. Their level of food is around the level of “edible” in most places. At least, you do not have to worry too much about having inedible meals as compared to before though.
 

Myth – The SG army has what it takes to deal with a war.

Fact – This is such an obvious and blatant lie I am not even going to talk about it. It makes me seethe.
 

Myth – Your rank denotes your responsibility and power in NS.

Fact – Good luck if you are a specialist or officer trying to lord it over your subordinates that are regulars. NSF are nothing but pieces of crap to the regular army, trust me. Do your job, know your line, serve, and get out. Nobody gives a shit about you. Even for commissioned officers, the warrant officers are only showing respect to you via rank, but you show disrespect to them and I bet you will have a really difficult time.
 

The Apache AH-64D Longbow, one of the most advanced fighting choppers and SG has 16 of them. Do not worry, getting to fly one of these is almost impossible for NSF…no wait, it is impossible.

So, what are you folks entering NS actually to do while in BMT? Get to being a man or an officer, and not in-between, that is to say, a specialist. A specialist goes nowhere – you are jammed in the middle of your men and your superior, and have to take the shit while still having the responsibility of command. Not a nice tightrope to walk. Plus your training is seriously going to be shit during the Basic Section Leader course in SISPEC.

Do not be too outstanding. Trust me, you would rather be a man, serve, get out, and go through 10 years (or so) of ICT than an officer who enjoys half his NS life in coursetime (2.5-4 months of BMT and then 9.5 months of being a cadet in coursetime in OCS), earns more pay when he gets commissioned as an officer but has more responsibilities (like way more) and has to do reservice till he is 50 (I forgot how many years they changed to).
 

Try to maintain good relations with everyone and not be a dick. Get bad peer testimonials and it is a surefire way to go somewhere hellish. Do your job, shut your trap, and stuff like that. Unfortunately there are times when nobody is willing to do anything – in those times, take the initiative. Ironically, that puts you in a higher regard than your peers and makes it more likely for you to enter a command position (ie. SISPEC or OCS out of BMT).

BMTC is also a holiday chalet – compared to real units, your punishments and what-not, including training, are going to be really just basic stuff. Wait till you get to real units and see the consequences of doing stuff that can get you charged by your superiors. Not a nice thing to have on your record.
 

BMTC is in Pulau Tekong, an island off the eastern coast of SG. It has a higher ambient temperature than the mainland, by roughly 1-2 degrees. Because of this they are going to force you to drink copious amounts of water in one shot. If you cannot take it, do not be a hero and try to finish it by force. Do it slowly if you must. This is for your own safety. Not to worry, you might get yelled at or whatever, but err on the side of caution please.

Do not eat too many biscuits or other heaty stuff; I learnt this the hard way by having a consistent cough that plagued me throughout my BMT. Other than that, I really have no idea what else I have to say. The real NS starts out of BMT, so enjoy your time in BMTC.

This post ended up being longer than I thought, but meh. If you are interested in reading more, you can read the rest, it is not really relevant to advice. To those going into NS soon, good luck! There is no need to do your best, but rather, go through it as it were. It is a statement of fact that your brainpower decreases exponentially in NS, and you usually cannot do anything about it till you get out of NS, so yeah. I will not say “have fun”, unless you like being GAR.
 

*****

The famous F117 Nighthawk, which made its name in the Gulf War. However, it was technically a stealth bomber rather than a stealth fighter, but the tactical advantages to be had with such a system cannot be ignored.

The essence of an army is not force; Sun Zi, and other military strategists, have taught us that since the ancient ages. Quality over quantity is always the better option, as well as strategic advantage. Allow me to point out of course that the Art of War is old, and we must do our best to adapt it to the technological superiority of the times we live in. But even given such superiority and advances, are we really still able to hold off a possible assault?

Stealth is key and has been since the ancients – the one who can hit an opponent where it hurts without being detected will gain a critical advantage over the enemy. To fulfil this end we have commando units, smart missiles, stealth bombers, and the like. But do we have all of these stuff here locally? No.
 

It is a matter of fact that if a full-scale assault were to be launched against us, the longest we can stand up to the assault in open and orthodox combat is roughly 3 days at the most. Look at our geographical location. We are a freaking island at the end of a peninsula. What lies south of us is an ocean. The British back then made the obvious mistake of believing the jungles of Malaysia were impenetratable; look where that got them. But are we going to be repeating the same type of mistake they did?

Jungle warfare is what we usually are trained for, it is the highest priority in the local armed forces. And take a look around the island – where the hell do you see jungles? Urban warfare is obviously, if we were to fight in local areas, what we should be training for, not jungle combat. But then again, if we were to fight, SG would have no space to do that, and we will probably do so in Malaysia, where the jungles would come in. Unfortunately, is a battle going to advance to that stage?
 

Terrorism aside, common sense (I have not read the Geneva Convention’s rules of war) dictates that you should not fire at innocent parties or do something drastic that will result in the mass deaths of innocent civilians. If war were such a kind delineation then maybe this ideal would come into effect. But sometimes it is difficult to distinguish who is an enemy and who is a civilian, and terrorism as well has come into the picture to change all that. Can you also, if you had a close friend killed by the enemy, check your rage and not shoot at any opponent, civilian or not, you see? War has no such nice and fine lines – trust me, the enemy is going to do the same to you.

Many people talk about nationalism, and fighting for your country, but how many of them actually believe in it? If it boils down to fighting, I believe most of us would rather take up arms to protect our families individually than to bother fighting for our countries. “Fight for the country and protect your families” they say. I hardly see how being sent overseas to do that will help. We could be fighting a war on another’s soil and be neglecting our home country where it could be invaded by another force. I can see it happen all too easily.
 

A model of the M4A1 Carbine assault rifle. The M16 assault rifle (older carbine versions) was the basis for this design. The M4A1 remains a trustworthy assault rifle in quite a few forces around the world.

War is not just a matter of technological superiority as well. Tactical advantage, as well as strategic advantage, comes into play. This does not only include what we have at our disposal, but also what we do with them, and how we engage the enemy. I seriously wonder at the fighting capabilities of our local armed forces. Then again, I am a bookworm strategist I guess, since I never had the chance to try out a wargame. War though is not a game, but wargames are the closest you could come to actual combat.

And it is also unfortunate that our armed forces are all about showing off, to the point where there are people who believe in the lies expounded by commercials and propaganda. Then again, a show of force is of course one of the most effective ways to stop an invasion or offensive act before it begins…the unfortunate thing is how much this mindset has spread, even to the point of entering social and political arenas in both the army and beyond. Even the highest up in the ranks have to deal with politics rather than actual military situations.
 

I will end my rather senseless rant here. It is sad to see how the world’s armed forces are degenerating nowadays, and also sad to see how the world is degenerating in particular. But I rather not say too much about it…or perhaps I have said too much as it is. Sensitive topics, but then again, someone has to come out and take the blame for voicing out what many people feel…or what I hope many people feel. Eyecandy below for sticking with me for so long.
 

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